Curiosity Rover: Lake Evidence Found by NASA in Mars Crater

The latest images from NASA's Curiosity rover exploring Mars showed evidence of a lake that may have once filled the 96-mile-wide Gale Crater some 3.5 billion years ago, scientists told reporters Monday.

Such a scenario suggests that the Red Planet could have sustained microbial life.

The new discovery combines data gathered by Curiosity since its August 2012 landing inside the crater. Scientists found rocks containing water-deposited sediments piled toward the center of the area, which raises the possibility that water filled most of the crater 3.5 billion years ago, and that a 3.5-mile-high mountain — known as Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons — in the middle of the crater could've formed due to erosion.

After finding the chemical properties and the environmental conditions required to sustain microbial life some two years ago, the rover headed toward Mount Sharp in search of other habitable areas and discover whether life-supporting conditions existed long enough for life to form.

"The size of the lake in Gale Crater and the length of time and series that water was showing up implies that there may have been sufficient time for life to get going and thrive," NASA's Mars Exploration Program scientist Michael Meyer said, Reuters reported.

The latest images from NASA's Curiosity rover exploring Mars showed evidence of a lake that may have once filled the 96-mile-wide Gale Crater some 3.5 billion years ago, scientists told reporters Monday.